Anomaly
Hollow Face
Updated:
Visual-class anomaly: patient at the window has empty eye sockets and an oversized open frown.
- Visual description
- Visibly hollow / empty eye sockets, paired with a large open frown that doesn't match standard patient expressions.
- Detection location
- Admission window — direct visual at the live monitor.
- Warning signs
- Eye sockets render as empty / hollow
- Mouth is locked in an oversized open frown
- No eye animation during dialogue
- Counter action
- Press the Shutters button at the front desk to reject.
- What NOT to do
- Admit it. Like every anomaly, an admitted Hollow Face becomes a Skinwalker (see /wiki/enemies/skinwalker) hunting on the floor.
- Risk level
- high
- First appears
- Shift 1
- Counter item
- —
Why the frown matters as much as the sockets
Hollow Face is sometimes summarised as "empty eye sockets" but that undersells the cue. The Techwiser entry pairs the empty sockets with a "large open frown" — both are present together. Either one alone is ambiguous (some patient models render with darkened eye areas; some have surprised expressions). The combination is the lock.
Where this lands in the visual class
Six visual anomalies are detectable at the live window without tools: Three Eyes, Mismatched Eyes + Sharp Teeth, Human Teeth, Twitching, Wide Eyes + Creepy Smile, and Hollow Face. Hollow Face is widely cited as one of the most obvious — both cues are unmistakable once you actually look at the face for a beat. The miss-mode is rushing through intake without doing a deliberate visual scan.
What it looks like vs Censored Eyes
The two get conflated. Censored Eyes shows a black censor bar over the eyes; it's a CCTV-class anomaly and never visible at the window. Hollow Face shows empty sockets at the window itself. Different classes, different workflows. If you see something black over the eye region, ask which view you're looking at — the window means Hollow Face is the wrong call.
Confirmed downstream
Becomes a Skinwalker on the floor once admitted.
Sources: Techwiser anomalies guide, Destructoid walkthrough.